Kozunak (Bulgarian Easter Bread)

Kozunak is a slightly sweet enriched celebration bread often served Easter morning in Bulgaria.

Kozunak is similar to many celebration breads of Europe, especially eastern Europe, and is enriched with eggs, oil, and sugar. It reminds me of brioche, pandoro, or Pane di Pasqua, except that it calls for oil rather than butter.

In fact, it's a close cousin to Romanian Cozonac. I've seen versions of this bread braided in a strand, braided into a round, and topped with slivered almonds. You can also fill it with rum soaked raisins.

True to the tradition of European celebration breads, this bread is flavored with vanilla and lemon zest, which reminds me of fiori de Sicilia, an extract that is often used in Italian celebration breads.

This Kozunak is wonderful the day that it's made, sliced and buttered, spread with Nutella, or slathered in your favorite jam. Leftover bread makes excellent French toast and bread pudding.

For more Easter breads, be sure to check out Orange Blueberry Hot Cross Buns, Pane de Pascua, Flaounes, and Crescia al Formaggio. 

Tips for making Bulgarian Kozunak. 

Enriched breads such as this Kozunak, with eggs and fat, can sometimes turn out heavy and dry. To prevent this, be sure to knead it thoroughly, slowly incorporating the oil or butter at the end. Don't be tempted to add extra flour. The dough should be pretty sticky. Using a stand mixer or bread machine (just for kneading) will make the mixing much easier.

Be sure to bring all of your ingredients, including the eggs, to room temperature.

The interior of this bread should be soft and moist and easy to pull apart without crumbling. The best test to see if the bread is done is to use an instant read thermometer and pull the bread out of the oven when it reaches 190 degrees F.

If your exterior crust begins to get brown too quickly, you can tent the loaf with foil while it is still baking.

The dough for this bread is super sticky. At first I tried to braid it, but it produced what I was sure would be a lopsided loaf after baking. Instead, I divided the dough into 6 equal pieces, rolled each into a ball, and placed them next to each other in the pan to create a "faux" braid. I'm super happy with how it turned out.

Please keep my secret that it's not a real braid.

Brush this bread with an egg wash and sprinkle some sparkling sugar or slivered almonds on top for a nice finish.

Happy belated Easter!


This month, the Bread Bakers are baking Easter breads, a theme chosen by Culinary Adventures with Camilla.

• Choereg (Armenian Easter Bread) by Making Miracles
• Easy Glazed Baked Donuts by Shockingly Delicious
• Folar da Páscoa, a Less-Than-Traditional Version by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• German Osterbrot Easter Bread by Ambrosia
• Hot Cross Buns by Sneha's Recipe
• Polish Babka by A Messy Kitchen
• Kalach (Hungarian Easter Bread) by Passion Kneaded
• Russian Kulich - Easter Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Hot Cross Buns by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Ukrainian Paska by Zesty South Indian Kitchen

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

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Kozunak (Bulgarian Easter Bread)

Yield: 20 servings

Author: Karen Kerr

Kozunak is a slightly sweet enriched celebration bread often served for Easter in Bulgaria.

Ingredients:

For the Dough

• 1 cup lukewarm milk
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs plus one egg white (reserve the other egg yolk for the egg wash)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 1/2 cups (540 grams/19.2 ounces) flour
• zest from 1 lemon
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the Egg Wash and Topping

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 tablespoons sparkling sugar

Instructions:

How to cook Kozunak (Bulgarian Easter Bread)

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and yeast. 
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the sugar and eggs until sugar is dissolved. Add the vanilla and then the milk and yeast mixture. Add half of the oil. Mix to combine. Add 1/2 of the flour and, using the paddle attachment, mix until well combined.
3. Mix in the lemon juice and lemon zest.
4. Switch to the dough hook and gradually add the rest of the flour, mixing just until combined. Slowly add the remaining oil, mixing constantly. 
5. Transfer the dough to an oiled dough rising bucket, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 2 to 5 hours.
6. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F and oil a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. 
7. Once the dough has doubled, on a floured surface, divide the dough into 6 equal sized pieces and form them into balls. Place the balls in the prepared loaf pan two across, and three lengthwise. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. 
8. Whisk together the leftover egg yolk and 1 tbsp milk. 
9. Brush the bread with the egg wash and sprinkle with the sparkling sugar.
10. Bake the loaf at 375 F for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 F and bake for at least 20-40 more minutes, until the top of the bread is browned and toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. The interior of the bread should be 190 degrees F. 
11. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. De-pan and transfer the loaf to a cooling rack and let it cool completely.

Calories
205.75

Fat (grams)
6.73

Sat. Fat (grams)
0.85

Carbs (grams)
31.58

Fiber (grams)
1.00

Net carbs
30.58

Sugar (grams)
9.01

Protein (grams)
4.53

Sodium (milligrams)
18.08

Cholesterol (grams)
28.86

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2020/04/kozunak-bulgarian-easter-bread.html

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This recipe was adapted from Cooking LSL.